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English author J. K. Rowling's life is a rags-to-riches story: her mother was ill for many years and passed away when Rowling was twenty-five years old. Then she moved to Portugal, taught English as a foreign language, and she got married and gave birth to a daughter. Due to the aggression of her husband, she had to leave him and return to the UK a year later. She had started writing Harry Potter, but she was unemployed and lived in a small apartment with her baby daughter. She had a low self-esteem at the time. When she finished writing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, several publishers rejected the book. At last, Bloomsbury Publishing, a British publishing house, agreed to publish it, requesting that she use her initials in her pen name, because the publisher believed female authors' names were less appealing to young boys.Once the Harry Potter books were published, they became an instant success. Their popularity only grew as the series progressed, and they have now sold hundreds of millions of copies and have been translated into over 80 different languages. Rowling has now made a fortune from her books; she became a self-made billionaire and the first person to lose the billionaire title due to donations to charity. She is now worth about $860 million and is the highest paid author in the world.

Why did Rowling not sign her full name on the Harry Potter books?

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A capsule hotel is a type of hotel developed in Japan. What makes it so special is the fact that it doesn't have rooms: the guests sleep in tiny box-shaped "rooms," called capsules, that have room only for a bed. The bed takes up the entire capsule and the guest cannot sit upright inside the capsule, but only lie down. The capsule is typically made of plastic or fiberglass. The capsules are stacked side by side, two units high. Most capsules include a television and a wi-fi connection, and the hotel provides vending machines and sometimes a restaurant and a pool. This style of hotel can be found primarily in Japan, but can also be found in Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Belgium. These hotels are very popular among people without a lot of money and only wish to stay one night. A capsule hotel might have as few as fifty or as many as seven hundred capsules.

What is one reason to choose a capsule hotel over a regular hotel?

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The first ice cream maker was invented by Nancy Johnson. She received a patent in 1843 for her invention, a small-scale ice cream freezer, which comprised two spatulas that fit tightly into a long cylindrical barrel. The spatulas contained holes and were attached to a shaft that could be rotated with a crank, while the cylinder was cooled from the outside with a salt and ice mixture. The spatulas could be rotated in the mix and scrape ice crystals off the inner wall of the cylinder simultaneously. This invention made ice cream making far easier than it had been, and ensured a more uniform texture than had been possible before. It was even possible to produce two flavors of ice cream simultaneously.After Nancy Johnson received her patent, she did not have enough money and resources to manufacture her machine and market it. Therefore, she sold the patent to William Young for $200. Young, in his turn, marketed the machine as the "Johnson Patent Ice Cream Freezer." The mechanism of Johnson's machine was used in ice cream makers around the world for many years, and William Young made a fortune.

Which of the following is correct according to the passage?

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Despite the fact that he always thinks he knows everything, he is not omniscient.

Which of the following words is a synonym (a word that shares the same meaning with another) of the word omniscient?

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Corinna was riding her bike along Wisteria Lane, thinking of her science test the next day. She liked science, but this week she had been busy and had barely studied. She would have to work hard tonight.As she kept riding, she suddenly heard someone scream from inside the nearest house and stopped her bike. Before she could do anything else, a girl came running out of the house and up to her, calling her name.Corinna knew the girl. It was Carmen, who was in her grade and whom she greatly disliked. Carmen had never invited Corinna to her birthday parties and had always made fun of Corinna's jeans and shoes, which were not trendy enough for her taste."Corinna," said Carmen, her eyes full of tears, "can you please help me? My little sisters are crying, and I don't know what to do. None of the neighbors are home… My parents went on a day trip and left me in charge, and I don't know what to do… please?"Corinna sighed, but something in Carmen's eyes made her unable to say no. She thought for a moment, then nodded and followed Carmen to the house. Carmen's little sisters were screaming and crying at the top of their lungs, but Corinna had four little brothers and sisters of her own and knew exactly what to do and how to calm them down.She left Carmen's house three hours later, with the girls fast asleep and Carmen thanking her repeatedly. "You're the best, Corinna. I'll never forget what you did for me! Thank you so much!"

What is the main conflict in the story?

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Scientists have been trying to figure out why clowns, who are meant to make us laugh, are so scary, and have recently come up with a new theory. Clowns have exaggerated facial features and body parts, including hands, feet, and noses. However, the scariest part is, evidently, the smile. Clowns typically have a red, painted smile, which our brains perceive as a regular smile; however, unlike a natural smile, a clown's smile never falters. Clowns keep smiling, whether they are happy, sad, or upset. No matter the situation, clowns keep smiling. Our brains might recognize that the clown's smile is independent of the situation, and therefore, interpret it as unnatural and scary.

What is the author's assumption in the passage?

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Tarzan, the 1999 Disney animated film, had a rich soundtrack composed and recorded by Phil Collins, the famous English musician. Collins recorded the songs not only in his native English, but also in French, Italian, Spanish, and German. It was the first Disney soundtrack to be recorded in multiple languages by the same musician. One of the famous songs from the soundtrack, "You'll Be in My Heart," won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.The success was so big that Collins wrote and composed the soundtrack for Disney's 2003 animated film Brother Bear, and once again recorded some of the songs himself.

Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?

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Eugene thought he and his little sister were too old to have a babysitter, but their parents, evidently, thought otherwise and insisted on bringing one every time they went out. They have endured some horrific babysitters, including one that sent them to bed at seven o'clock, and another who broke the DVD and then blamed it on them. But this one, their parents promised, was different. Even though Eugene doubted it, he had promised his parents to give her a chance.The babysitter was about seventeen years old, and her name was Laurel. As soon as their parents left, she asked Eugene and his sister Kathleen what they wanted to do. They wanted to watch television. Laurel joined them, but after about twenty minutes, she turned it off."Hey, we were watching that!" Eugene protested."Oh, but I've got something much more interesting for us to do," Laurel replied. "I'm going to tell you a story."Eugene and Kathleen exchanged gloomy looks. They were not in the mood for a story. They wanted to watch TV. But Laurel seemed so determined that they kept quiet. Laurel took a chair and sat in front of them."I want to tell you about something that happened to me two days ago," Laurel began. "I was in the supermarket when a very old lady that I had never seen before came up to me and asked me if I was interested in a deal. I didn't know what she was offering, so I said, why not. She beckoned me over to a part of the supermarket I had never seen before, which was much darker than the rest of the store, with all kinds of strange products in languages I couldn't read…"Eugene and Kathleen listened with their mouths open. A few minutes later, Laurel paused, took a deep breath and asked: "So, would you like to watch TV now?""No! No! Go on!" they both protested at once. Laurel grinned and went on. She kept telling them stories until their parents came back. As soon as she left, Eugene and Kathleen told their parents they would never agree to have another babysitter except for Laurel. "And can you please go out again tomorrow?" Kathleen added.

Laurel turning off the television is an example of which kind of technique?

Which of the following words means "faulty structure"?

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Frederick was walking down the long avenue that led from school to his house when he saw an old beggar sitting on the sidewalk leaning against a wall, his eyes closed and his hand outstretched. Frederick knew it was rude to stare, but decided to give the man a little money in case he was hungry. As Frederick drew closer, he noticed the old beggar was rocking back and forth, muttering indistinctly under his breath. Frederick leaned in to listen and realized the beggar was, in fact, singing:"Lonely lasses, lazy lads,Cherubs in clouds and cinnamon bread.They weep and sweep and fall asleep.I turn to gaze at the red sky instead."Although Frederick could not perceive the meaning of the song, he was still impressed and put twice as much money as he had intended in the beggar's outstretched hand. As he walked away, he looked back and saw that although the beggar had not changed his position at all, his eyes were now open and he was nodding at him in gratitude.

Which of the following is an example of alliteration?

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Singapore is the only country in the world in which chewing gum is completely banned. The idea to ban gum completely was first brought to the Prime Minister of Singapore in 1983. It had been reported for several years that gum was causing maintenance and cleaning problems: vandals were leaving spent gum in mailboxes, inside keyholes and on elevator buttons, which were all difficult to get rid of and sometimes caused damage. Chewing gum left on floors and bus seats proved hard to clean and damaged cleaning equipment. In 1987 the railway system started running. The Singapore government had invested several billions in that railway system, and it was soon reported that vandals had started sticking chewing gum on train door sensors, preventing the doors from functioning well and disrupting the train movement. When Goh Chok Tong was elected as the new prime minister in 1992, he decided to restrict the distribution of gum and after a short transition period in which stores were allowed to clear existing stock, the sale of chewing gum was banned, except for medical reasons.

What is the structure of the passage?

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Minnie was reading a book when her younger brother Chuck came home and walked past her bedroom. "What are you doing?" he asked, poking his head inside."As you can see, I'm reading," said Minnie without looking up."So, nothing important then. Listen, a new family has just moved into the old Miller house. You have to see what they've done with their front yard!"Minnie put the book aside and ran out with Chuck. The sun was like a big ball of fire in the sky and both children were sweating, but they kept running all the way down the street until they reached the old Miller house. There, Minnie stopped running and stood there, aghast. The front yard of the large house she had known her whole life had been filled with garden gnomes—small, ugly lawn ornaments, at least twenty of them, each one wearing different clothes and standing a different way. Some were grinning, some were frowning, and one was lying in a hammock, apparently asleep. The gnomes were by no means the only ornaments the new family had chosen to decorate the yard with: there was a giant gorilla, seven dancing dogs, and a whole pack of flamingoes.Minnie gaped at the figurines. Some of them were particularly appealing, like the dogs, while others, like the gnomes, were not. However, it was the sheer numerosity that made her feel shocked."I think, as far as lawn ornaments are concerned, maybe less is more," she whispered to Chuck."Yes," said Chuck. "But let's hope they have nice kids we can play with."

Which of the following is a paradox?

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"Frisson" is a French term for chills of pleasure, which many people get while listening to certain musical pieces, looking at beautiful artwork, or watching a moving scene from a movie. About two-thirds of the population occasionally experience frisson. The more engaged a person is in a piece of music or art, the more likely he or she is to experience frisson. Typically, frisson causes goosebumps, and scientists have been trying to discover why. Goosebumps is a skin reaction which typically occurs after a rapid change in temperature. The hairs on our skin are raised, then lowered, which creates a layer of warmth. However, since this is a physiological reaction, and frisson is psychological, science has yet to explain why frisson may cause goosebumps.Studies have tried to explain why some people experience frisson while others do not. It has been shown that people who experience frisson also score high for a personality trait called "openness to experience," and are more imaginative and curious than other people.

According to the passage, it is likely that:

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My friend Sophie came over to my house to play video games. Sophie usually won these games, and this time was no exception. When we finished the game, Sophie received a text message. The sound was familiar. "What song is that?" I asked."'You're Welcome', from Moana," Sophie replied. "It's a new Disney movie…""I watched it too!" I interrupted. "I loved that movie! I loved how the water looked so real.""I loved the songs!" said Sophie."But what I really loved," I continued, "was Moana's character. She's the daughter of the village chief, and she will be the chief after him. She's so independent and strong. She does what she thinks is right, fights the bad guys, and saves her people. And above all, I loved how it's clear to everyone that she's going to be the chief. Usually in films you see that girls can only rule if they get married, but in Moana, no one questions the fact that she can rule on her own.""You're right," said Sophie. "And in most films, the girl is saved by the boy, but Moana saves the day herself.""It's very refreshing to see a heroine like Moana," I agreed.

What is the author's viewpoint?